Category: Facebook Dating
Facebook Dating Now Integrates With Instagram and Facebook Stories
Barry Diller Begins Again
FORBES INDIA – Nov 18 – Barry Diller, the former Hollywood mogul has ground his way to a $4.2B technology fortune. At IAC he has built and spun off ten publicly traded companies, including Ticketmaster, travel giant Expedia and Match Group, Tinder's parent company, worth a combined $70B. "Spinning off Match is a process of renewal in that IAC gets to start inventing again. We are shrinking in order to grow again… shrinking with $5B of cash," he says. Former Diller lieutenant Dara Khosrowshahi, now the CEO of Uber Technologies, says, "Barry's like a shark. If he stops swimming, he dies. So he just keeps going." Diller's current hand looks challenging. Match shares were falling after Facebook said it would redouble its online dating efforts. There are also lawsuits. The co-founders of Tinder, Sean Rad and Justin Mateen, claim they were deprived of billions when the app was consolidated by Match. Diller responds sharply: "Sean Rad is a blowhard and a bad actor." Facebook, Diller adds, has yet to register as a threat to Match. "I'm not overly worried," he quips, then brings up the possibility of regulation. "I think that there are real issues," he says, turning his attention to Google. "It's okay to take our money as advertisers. It's not fine, in my opinion, to then try and get our customers."
Can Facebook Buy Match Group?
TREFIS – Oct 15 – In 2018, Facebook announced that it would launch a dating feature. Facebook has the benefit of a massive user base, and even a small percentage of its users adopting a new dating feature could catapult it to the lead position in this segment. However, the perception of Facebook's treatment of user privacy will act as a major deterrent for potential users. Facebook is no stranger to growing by acquisition, and Match Group looks like a great fit. Tinder represents an asset similar in quality and potential to WhatsApp which Facebook bought in 2014. As of 2018, the following is how Match Group's Key Metrics compared with Facebook:
- User base: 7.9M for Match Group vs 2.25B for Facebook
- Average Revenue per Users (ARPU): $220 for Match Group vs $24.8 for Facebook
- Revenues: $1.7B for Match Group vs $55.8B for Facebook
- Adj EBITDA: $654M for Match Group vs $34B for Facebook
- EBITDA/user: $83 for Match Group vs $15 for Facebook
Valuations: Standalone and that of the combined entity
For Match Group, we expect EV to be 9.2x the 2020 revenues of $2.5 billion. This translates into an implied enterprise value (EV) of $22.8B for the Match Group, and also represents an EV/EBITDA of 25.5x for the company.
What Online Dating Experts Think About Facebook Dating
THE ZOE REPORT – Sep 30 – "We found that 40% of online daters don't feel that there's a dating app, site, or platform that meets their needs," said Charmaine Hung, the Facebook Dating project manager. "Facebook Dating makes it easier to find love through what you like," she explains. So, what do online dating experts think of this venture? Mark Brooks, consultant to internet dating CEOs at CourtlandBrooks.com, says he's all for the digital dating platform. "It's vastly superior to the average startup dating app because Facebook is instantly at critical mass," he notes. When it comes to features, he says he's particularly a fan of Secret Crush. "The 'double like' features in HotOrNot, Badoo, Tinder, and POF always made sense," he says, praising FB for offering a similar option. Plus, "putting a cap on crushes by allowing nine is brilliant. It's just enough to quickly identify the very topmost mutual crushes, which should really be thrilling for many." All in all, Brooks has high hopes for the dating platform. "Facebook knows when they've been successful. Over time they should be able to see their patterns of success that will allow them to improve their algorithms over time," he concludes. Fellow online dating consultant Steve Dean, founder of Dateworking and host of the Modern Connection Podcast, has been using the platform himself for a couple of weeks – and so far, he's not impressed. "It currently feels as though Facebook has done nothing whatsoever with its matching algorithms, leaving users with a lineup of truly terrible matches," he says. "Worse, the structure of the app essentially forces users into 'Tinder-ized' dopamine loops where they're simply liking or rejecting users based on photos. He compares its user experience to Tinder and its profile setup to Hinge, giving it an overall vibe that's "disingenuous and very uncreative." But despite his criticisms, Dean admits that Facebook has a unique vantage point when it comes to data, something that could benefit its matching structure in the future.
Facebook Is Undervalued by 25%
Facebook Dating: The “Walmart of Dating Apps”
Here Is How Facebook Dating Works
WIRED – Sep 24 – Facebook Dating's US rollout includes a few new updates, including safety features and more Instagram integration. Users can now feature permanent Instagram posts in their Dating profiles. By the end of the year, Facebook says it will also allow them to share Instagram or Facebook Stories. Instagram will also become part of Secret Crush, an existing Facebook Dating feature that lets users select up to nine Facebook friends they want to express an interest in. User can turn off matching with friends of friends, they can also block people from seeing their Facebook Dating profile. Before meeting someone in person for the first time, many people tell a friend or family member where they're going and when they expect to be back, in case something happens. More recently, people have been sharing their location using tools like Apple's Find My Friends. Facebook will allow them to automatically open Messenger from Dating and tell a friend the name of the person they're going on a date with, as well as the time and place where they plan to hang out. Fifteen minutes before your date happens, that person will receive a notification reminder and access to their live location. But unlike Find My Friends, the location is only shared for up to an hour, at least for now.
Facebook Dating Is a Threat to Match, But Not to Tinder
See full article at Seeking Alpha
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Facebook Puts Unauthorized Dating Service Ads on Philly Streets
